This simple lentil vegetable soup recipe is naturally hearty, but also vibrant and light. Garlic, fresh rosemary, lemon zest and juice, plus a finishing hit of miso flavor this pot of goodness that cooks up in 35 minutes on the stove. This vegan soup strikes the perfect balance of ease and coziness. Like most soups, it gets better as it sits, so it’s perfect for meal prep! Fans of this combo might also like my Deep Green Lentil Stew with Spinach, Tahini & Lemon.
Simplicity is the name of the game with this vegetable lentil soup. This pot is packed with aromatic vegetables that are first sautéed for a solid 10-12 minutes for maximum flavor development. I know that this sounds like a long time, but it adds so much to the final result.
This soup is minimal in terms of ingredients, so I do think it’s important to start off with a delicious vegetable stock. Homemade is ideal if you can swing it! Beyond that, I recommend seasoning well with salt and pepper and making any adjustments that you need to at the very end. I always find myself tweaking a soup in the final stages with acidic components, salt, pepper, something with a bit of heat etc.
If you want to add more vegetables, a couple handfuls of chopped spinach or kale would be nice here. Just drop them into the pot towards the end of the simmering time so that they get a couple minutes to wilt. I love to enjoy this soup with drizzles of chili oil or chili crisp on top. If you also crave the spice, I highly recommend it.
Hope you love this more simple offering from my kitchen! It hits at 12 ingredients (minus oil, salt and pepper), which is pretty minimal for me. Sometimes the pure goodness of the ingredients is just the thing. Enjoy :)
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Lemony Lentil Vegetable Soup with Rosemary & Fennel
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, small dice
- 2 medium carrots, small dice
- 2 sticks celery, small dice
- 1 medium bulb fennel, cored and chopped small
- sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves, minced
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- ¾ cup green lentils
- 6-8 cups vegetable stock (see note)
- 1 tablespoon light miso
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ⅓ cup chopped flat leaf parsley (optional)
- chili oil, for serving (optional)
Notes
- I say 6-8 cups of vegetable stock because I tend to like this on the much more soupy end with 8 cups of stock. Other folks might prefer a thicker texture. I recommend starting with 6 cups and going from there.
- Take your time sautéing the vegetables in the first step. You’re building a ton of flavor in this stage.
Instructions
- Heat a heavy soup pot over medium heat. Once hot, pour in the olive oil. Add the onions, carrots, celery, and fennel all at once. Season with salt and pepper and stir. Sauté until vegetables are quite soft, about 10-12 minutes.
- Add the garlic, rosemary, lemon zest, and coriander to the pot. Sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add the lentils and stir. Add 6 cups of vegetable stock and stir once more. Place the lid on top and bring the soup to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to a simmer and leave the lid on top, slightly askew so that some steam can escape.
- Simmer until the lentils are tender, about 20 minutes.
- Place the miso in a bowl and add a couple ladles of hot broth from the soup on top. Use a spoon to "dissolve" the miso into the broth. Pour this mixture into the soup and stir. Stir in the lemon juice and parsley, if using.
- Check the soup for seasoning and adjust if necessary (more salt, pepper, lemon juice etc). Enjoy hot with chili oil on top if you like.
sis, you’re my GO to for vegan recipes. everything i’ve made is out of this world, filled with flavor and coziness. my daughter loves it too! thank you so much
I am truly so glad! Thanks for this kind comment and review, Si :)
-L
do you ever soak the lentils over night to help with digestion?
I don’t, but if you decide to do this, I imagine the cook time would be reduced by at least a third.
-L
Really lovely soup— I made it this evening and had it with baguette from my local bakery.
That sounds wonderful! Thanks for this review and comment, Issie.
-L
Such a delicious and hearty soup! It was so easy to put together! The lemon zest and juice gave such a freshness to the soup. I didn’t have any fennel, but I finished by adding kale to it. Thank you!
This soup is delicious and it’s better on the next day!!!
The seasoning is wonderful though I did add a piece of ginger to the mix.
This recipe is a keeper!!
I love lentils, fennel and lemon together. I added a little extra lentils because I love them but otherwise followed the recipe. It was delicious! Thanks for this and all your other recipes and inspiration.
you are so right Laura, simple but flavourful. + I’m a sucker for fennel!
Really delicious, with subtle floral notes from the coriander and fennel. The miso is a great addition. It’s going into the winter soup rotation at our house.
I bought all the ingredients to make this tomorrow, thinking I had green/brown lentils but I don’t! So I’m just curious if you think it’d work with what I have or not. :)
Could I sub black lentils?
Hi Allie, Black lentils are going to be more firm in a soup like this. If you’re fine with that, it’s a simple substitution. They will probably take 5-10 minutes longer to cook as well.
-L
Looks great! Caution not to boil the soup after adding miso as this will destroy the beneficial bacteria.
Thanks for this, Mimi! Generally when I add miso to a soup or sauce, I am purely adding it for the deep umami flavor notes. I know that your note of caution will be useful information for lots of folks though.
-L
Beautiful recipe–thanks for sharing this. Will make this weekend (need to buy fennel). Always want to make a first-time recipe to the letter, and then decide if adaptations are needed (which I do not expect will be needed for this).
I appreciate this! It is an admittedly simpler soup than what I typically offer, but with the thorough sautéing of the vegetables and a rich stock, it is so satisfying. I hope you enjoy!
-L
could i use canned lentils for this if that’s what i have? reduce the cooking time?
You could use canned lentils, but I would recommend reducing the vegetable stock if you’re doing this. Start with 4 cups and see if you need more. Using canned, totally cooked lentils means that you will not need to simmer the soup as long. I do honestly wonder how the flavor will be impacted overall by this though! I recommend really taking your time with the initial vegetable sautéing stage to extract maximum flavor :)
-L